Sociodemographic correlates of cancer fatalism and the moderating role of religiosity: Results from a nationally-representative survey.

In general, it has been found that cancer fatalism is negatively associated with important cancer prevention and control behaviors, whereas religiosity is positively associated with these behaviors. Yet, the notion that religiosity gives rise to fatalistic beliefs that may discourage health behaviors is deeply ingrained in the public health literature. In addition, racial/ethnic group membership is associated with higher reports of cancer fatalism, though this association may be confounded by socioeconomic status (SES).

Examining the external validity of the CRUZA study, a randomized trial to promote implementation of evidence-based cancer control programs by faith-based organizations.

The CRUZA trial tested the efficacy of an organizational-level intervention to increase capacity among Catholic parishes to implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for cancer control. This paper examines the external generalizability of the CRUZA study findings by comparing characteristics of parishes that agreed to participate in the intervention trial versus those that declined participation. Sixty-five Roman Catholic parishes that offered Spanish-language mass in Massachusetts were invited to complete a four-part survey assessing organization-level characteristics that, based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), may be associated with EBI implementation.

Complementary and alternative medicine use among persons with multiple chronic conditions: results from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey.

Background: Although a quarter of Americans are estimated to have multiple chronic conditions, information on the impact of chronic disease dyads and triads on use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is scarce. The purpose of this study is to: 1) estimate the prevalence and odds of CAM use among participants with hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity; and 2) examine the effects of chronic condition dyads and triads on the use of CAM modalities, specifically manipulative and body-based methods, biological treatments, mind-body interventions, energy therapies, and alternative medical systems.

Methods: Data were obtained from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey and the Adult Alternative Medicine supplement.

Elimination of Cost Sharing for Screening Mammography in Medicare Advantage Plans.

Background: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) required most insurers and the Medicare program to eliminate cost sharing for screening mammography.

Methods: We conducted a difference-in-differences study of biennial screening mammography among 15,085 women 65 to 74 years of age in 24 Medicare Advantage plans that eliminated cost sharing to provide full coverage for screening mammography, as compared with 52,035 women in 48 matched control plans that had and maintained full coverage.

Results: In plans that eliminated cost sharing, adjusted rates of biennial screening mammography increased from 59.

Medical Care Avoidance Among Older Adults.

To examine factors and reasons associated with medical care avoidance among older adults in the United States. Analysis of data on 2,155 adults aged 65 and older, who completed the 2008 Health Information National Trends Survey. Nearly one fourth of older adults reported medical care avoidance ( = 449; weighted % = 22.

To Continue or to Withhold Opioid Analgesics? An Ethical Dilemma Involving a 63-year-old Cancer Patient Who 'Broke the Pain Contract'.

[Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-10.asp].

Meausures of organizational characteristics associated with adoption and/or implementation of innovations: A systematic review.

Background: This paper identifies and describes measures of constructs relevant to the adoption or implementation of innovations (i.e., new policies, programs or practices) at the organizational-level.

Enhancing capacity among faith-based organizations to implement evidence-based cancer control programs: a community-engaged approach.

Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to promote cancer control among Latinos have proliferated in recent years, though adoption and implementation of these interventions by faith-based organizations (FBOs) is limited. Capacity building may be one strategy to promote implementation. In this qualitative study, 18 community key informants were interviewed to (a) understand existing capacity for health programming among Catholic parishes, (b) characterize parishes' resource gaps and capacity-building needs implementing cancer control EBIs, and (c) elucidate strategies for delivering capacity-building assistance to parishes to facilitate implementation of EBIs.

Perceptions of harm and addiction of snus: An exploratory study.

Tobacco companies in the United States are prohibited from making reduced harm claims without filing a modified risk tobacco product application with the Food and Drug Administration and obtaining an order to market as such. However, it is possible that product marketing may suggest reduced risk to individuals. This study examines perceptions, in particular those related to harm and addiction, of snus print advertisements using a combination of eye-tracking, survey, and semistructured interviews.

Do Men Receive Information Required for Shared Decision Making About PSA Testing? Results from a National Survey.

Most professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, emphasize that screening for prostate cancer with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test should only occur after a detailed discussion between the health-care provider and patient about the known risks and potential benefits of the test.

Dissemination of evidence-based cancer control interventions among Catholic faith-based organizations: results from the CRUZA randomized trial.

Background: The CRUZA randomized trial tested the efficacy of an organizational-level intervention to increase the capacity of Catholic faith-based organizations (FBOs) serving Latinos to implement evidence-based strategies (EBS) for cancer control.

Methods: Thirty-one Catholic parishes were enrolled. Twenty were randomized to a "capacity enhancement" (CE) intervention and 11 to a "standard dissemination" (SD) condition.

Quality of Care for White and Hispanic Medicare Advantage Enrollees in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Importance: Geographic, racial, and ethnic variations in quality of care and outcomes have been well documented among the Medicare population. Few data exist on beneficiaries living in Puerto Rico, three-quarters of whom enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA).

Objective: To determine the quality of care provided to white and Hispanic MA enrollees in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Blacks Smoke Less (and More) than Whites: Simpson's Paradox in U.S. Smoking Rates, 2008 to 2012.

In what is known as Simpson's Paradox, a statistical association present within different groups becomes reversed when the groups are aggregated. Because race is confounded with socioeconomic status (SES) in the U.S.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Overweight and Obese Cancer Survivors in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among US cancer survivors; examine whether use varies by underweight/normal weight, overweight, and obese body mass index status; determine reasons for use; and document disclosure rates of CAM use to medical professionals.

Methods: Data for 1785 cancer survivors were obtained from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey and CAM supplement. The prevalence and associations of CAM use in the previous 12 months were compared among underweight/normal weight, overweight, and obese adult cancer survivors.

Enhancing organizational capacity to provide cancer control programs among Latino churches: design and baseline findings of the CRUZA Study.

Background: Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have been successful in delivering health promotion programs for African Americans, though few studies have been conducted among Latinos. Even fewer have focused on organizational change, which is required to sustain community-based initiatives. We hypothesized that FBOs serving Latinos would be more likely to offer evidence-based strategies (EBS) for cancer control after receiving a capacity enhancement intervention to implement health programs, and designed the CRUZA trial to test this hypothesis.

Recruiting and Surveying Catholic Parishes for Cancer Control Initiatives: Lessons Learned From the CRUZA Implementation Study.

Background: We describe activities undertaken to conduct organizational surveys among faith-based organizations in Massachusetts as part of a larger study designed to promote parish-based cancer control programs for Latinos.

Method: Catholic parishes located in Massachusetts that provided Spanish-language mass were eligible for study participation. Parishes were identified through diocesan records and online directories.

Priorities, concerns and unmet needs among Haitians in Boston after the 2010 earthquake.

In January 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti. The devastation not only affected those living in Haiti at the time but also those Haitians living in the United States (U.S.

Seeking Information on Behalf of Others: An Analysis of Calls to a Spanish-Language Radio Health Program.

Objective: Spanish-monolingual Latinos account for 13% of U.S. residents and experience multiple barriers to effective health communication.

Implementation science in cancer prevention and control: a decade of grant funding by the National Cancer Institute and future directions.

Background: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has supported implementation science for over a decade. We explore the application of implementation science across the cancer control continuum, including prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship.

Methods: We reviewed funding trends of implementation science grants funded by the NCI between 2000 and 2012.

Pathways between acculturation and health behaviors among residents of low-income housing: the mediating role of social and contextual factors.

Acculturation may influence health behaviors, yet mechanisms underlying its effect are not well understood. In this study, we describe relationships between acculturation and health behaviors among low-income housing residents, and examine whether these relationships are mediated by social and contextual factors. Residents of 20 low-income housing sites in the Boston metropolitan area completed surveys that assessed acculturative characteristics, social/contextual factors, and health behaviors.

Leadership networks in Catholic parishes: implications for implementation research in health.

Through two case studies of Catholic parishes in Massachusetts, this study explores the implications of leader-centered versus distributed leadership in Catholic parishes for the implementation of evidence-based health interventions. The two parishes involved in the study differ from each other in several ways. In the first, parishioners are less engaged in leadership activities at the decision-making level in the parish.

Why do people avoid medical care? A qualitative study using national data.

Background: Many studies have examined barriers to health care utilization, with the majority conducted in the context of specific populations and diseases. Less research has focused on why people avoid seeking medical care, even when they suspect they should go.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to present a comprehensive description and conceptual categorization of reasons people avoid medical care.

Opportunities and challenges for the use of large-scale surveys in public health research: a comparison of the assessment of cancer screening behaviors.

Large-scale surveys that assess cancer prevention and control behaviors are a readily available, rich resource for public health researchers. Although these data are used by a subset of researchers who are familiar with them, their potential is not fully realized by the research community for reasons including lack of awareness of the data and limited understanding of their content, methodology, and utility. Until now, no comprehensive resource existed to describe and facilitate use of these data.

Religion, fatalism, and cancer control: a qualitative study among Hispanic Catholics.

Objectives: To assess cancer perceptions among churchgoers and to examine the potential influence of fatalism and religious beliefs on the use of cancer screening tests.

Methods: Eight semi-structured focus groups were conducted among 67 Hispanic Catholics in Massachusetts.

Results: In this sample, there were few references to fatalistic beliefs about cancer and nearly universal endorsement of the utility of cancer screening for cancer early detection.

Who Seeks Cita Con El Doctor? Twelve Years of Spanish-Language Radio Program Targeting U.S. Latinos.

Purpose: Spanish-dominant Latinos make up 13% of the U.S. population, and this group is poorer and faces multiple threats to health compared with the general population.